Forecast Text

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SZRimaging
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Forecast Text

Post by SZRimaging »

I have two weatherstations currently running Meteohub. I am using an xml feed from them to display the current weather on our websites. The only problem is, I can't figure out exactly what to use for the current conditions. The text version is way too long for my purposes, so I am trying to translate it into a one to three word synopsis. So instead of using the "text" I was looking at using either the wdlive or vpicon fields.

Here is what I have in the xml for weather that is currently bright and sunny without any clouds:

<item sensor="thb0" cat="fc" unit="">2</item>
<item sensor="thb0" cat="fc" unit="wdlive">19</item>
<item sensor="thb0" cat="fc" unit="vpicon">6</item>
<item sensor="thb0" cat="fc" unit="rule">9</item>
<item sensor="thb0" cat="fc" unit="text">Partly_cloudy_with_little_temperature_change.</item>
<item sensor="thb0" cat="fc" unit="textdeiso">Teils_wolkig_mit_geringer_Temperaturänderung.</item>

Can anyone help me figure out what to use? We have golf courses and ski hills and we need it to reflect what is happening at this exact moment.
SZRimaging
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Re: Forecast Text

Post by SZRimaging »

Any help? Please?
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YJB
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Re: Forecast Text

Post by YJB »

SZRimaging wrote: Can anyone help me figure out what to use? We have golf courses and ski hills and we need it to reflect what is happening at this exact moment.
Hi,

I'm not really sure what you want. There is no such a thing as current conditions: it seems to me that you are trying to use the forecast (fc) as a current condition.

Most weather stations do not have a real current condition, you would need to use a "cloud cover" sensor and a rain sensor (which is different from a rain collector, since you probably want to know that it is wet outside BEFORE you've measured the 1st 0,2mm). Once you have those sensors, you can probably do some scripting and work things out (together with temperature and maybe humidity).

Ysbrand
SZRimaging
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Re: Forecast Text

Post by SZRimaging »

Got it.

So basically, the feed from our weather station is fed to WeatherUnderground, and if you go to their site, it says "clear" currently, which looking out the window, it actually is. However the WDLive number is for partly cloudy (which is the correct forecast for today).

So what you are getting at is that I need to figure out some kind of formula from the other sensors to get what is going on currently. Know any place I can look this up? I'll start looking for this, but if you have an example or resource it is much appreciated.
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Re: Forecast Text

Post by wfpost »

the current condition from WeatherUnderground is certainly not calculated with your weather data, but with a far more complicated model.
For sure it uses all sorts of Satellite data for cloud cover or cloudiness to get a valid description of the current atmospheric condition in a certain area.

This makes the current condition description indeed very accurate.
A weather station cannot do this with its few parameters, I guess.

What I do:
I´ve written a small shell script, running on my meteohub, that grabs the current condition from WU and prints this text every 20 minutes into my webpage.
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Re: Forecast Text

Post by jpangel1 »

Hi -- would you mind sharing your script? I have converted my Rainwise MK III to Meteohub from Weather Display on Windows. I miss the forecast and current condition information I used to get to my webpage -- both the front page and the WDLive page. I am looking for a solution of some kind. Forecast is more important to me than current condition text, but at this point I'll take either.

I also have a Vantage Pro II that I set up on Meteohub about a month ago -- of course I can get the text for this system :)

Appreciate any help. Thanks

JP
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